Power Shell Language - Passed 70-685

sharpy56

Hi All,

As the title suggests, I want to learn power shell sort of how people know to speak multiple languages. I think it will be a great tool from reading over many different forums.

I was just hoping with your knowledge of your fastest way to learn it? eg. setting up a home lab and just going for it...

Also I have seen that exchange has a power shell console, this leads me to possibly a stupid question, but is the power shell commands standard across the different versions of windows and environments? Obviously, exchange commands would only work in exchange if this was possible etc.

Also is it true you can do everything through power shell that you can do through the windows GUI?

Recently became a MCITP to with passing the 70-685 and 70-680 exams, just wanting to get some more understanding on things before jumping into the server exams, or should I just go for it? It is just best to setup a virtual machine so it doesn't matter if you break it and go through the different scenarios?

Just trying to get as much Microsoft knowledge in my head!

Thank you all in advance!!!

blargoe

sharpy56 wrote: »

Also I have seen that exchange has a power shell console, this leads me to possibly a stupid question, but is the power shell commands standard across the different versions of windows and environments? Obviously, exchange commands would only work in exchange if this was possible etc.

The commands are consistent across different versions of Windows as long as its the same version of powershell that is installed. Of course, there are powershell modules that are specific to Exchange, AD, SQL Server, etc., and some that you might use from 3rd parties (VMware, Quest).

Also is it true you can do everything through power shell that you can do through the windows GUI?

Everything? Don't know about that. Probably close to everything.

I never did take the approach of sitting down and "studying" powershell, but I have picked up a little along the way to help me on the job, and today I use it at least daily. If you can find common administrative tasks and start looking at the powershell equivalent, that is a start. It is most handy to me when I want to report against or perform actions against multiple objects. Instead of clicking a million times in a GUI, I can sometimes accomplish what I need in one line of powershell. I also use it heavily for scripting and automation. I almost never use .bat files anymore.

RobertKaucher

sharpy56 wrote: »

Also is it true you can do everything through power shell that you can do through the windows GUI?

This really depends on what you mean. You can use PowerShell with features like WMI and .NET libraries so I would say that basically anything in *Windows* that you can do via the GUI can be done via PowerShell. However, when you get to the application specific commands like for SharePoint there are certain things that you can only do via PowerShell and one or two things that still need to be done via the legacy tool STSADM (a command line tool).

But the fact is this: you cannot consider yourself a strong Windows admin anymore (server or desktop admin) unless you know PowerShell.

Slowhand

If you're wanting to learn more about PowerShell, you can't really go wrong with anything from Don Jones. He's done a couple of CBT Nuggets series on PowerShell, version 1 and version 2, and he's got a great site you can check out for tips, script examples, and lots of resources to help you out. He also did a recent webcast going over some of the new features of PowerShell version 3 on Microsoft's Channel 9. Also, have a look at the PowerShell Owner's Manual to help get you started. PowerShellBooks.com has some suggestions for further reading, and RedmondMag.com is probably a good place to start looking for articles and howtos on all things new with PowerShell.

Devilry

Thank you for that post, slowhand. I have been wanting to learn this skillset as well.

KenC

blargoe wrote: »

I also use it heavily for scripting and automation. I almost never use .bat files anymore.

Can you give examples of this please, blargoe. Not the actual scripts but real-world uses of scripting and automation that you use it for. I'm not involved in larger setups, so the GUI / Group Policy is easier for me. Thanks.

drkat

ActivePerl!!!!

pumbaa_g

Get the Book Powershell in a month of lunches, its really good if you want to start off with Powershell. Apart from this just play around with it on your Desktop and Server, that will give you enough knowledge.

4_lom

What did you think of the 685? I'm getting ready to take it at the end of the month. Any suggestions?

pumbaa_g

I am going through 685 for some change from some more heavy reading and found it to be very pleasant change. I wish I had something like this when I started with Helpdesk Support, would have taken me a lot less time to learn so many things from trial and error.
One advice on starting Powershell the more you work on it, the better it is for you. I started with automating simple tasks on my Desktop at work (Open Outlook/OC IE minimized) and progressed on to writing a Script doing system audits for ISO Audit & Inventory.

dbrink

I have a few Powershell scripts that run daily to automate some tasks. One is a script that runs every 15 minutes that checks the disk space and services on my email archiving systems. If a disk drops below a certain threshold it sends me a text message to alert me. Also, if a service is stopped, it will attempt to restart it and then wait a few minutes and then check again. If it can't start the service it sends me a text to alert me.

I also have a script that runs daily and sends some test accounts an email. I do this so I have messages in those mailboxes every day so I can check to be sure my email archiving system is staying current.

I also have a script that checks our AD for certain criteria for accounts and if they meet the criteria, it deletes their account, their user share, and a few other things.

Really, the options of automation are endless with Powershell.

undomiel

For a great resource of some real world powershell scripting you can check this thread: http://www.techexams.net/forums/off-topic/59688-script-repository.html

I'm also particularly fond of the Powershell in Action book.